Camping at Koolandilly

This weekend I went camping with the family at the Koolandilly property. This is the place that I went on my very first day here in Australia. Remember how I said that first weekend that I thought I would enjoy it more if I were less jet legged and more aware. Well I certainly was able to take in more of my surroundings and relish in the natural beauty that I was surrounded by. It really really is one of the most beautiful places I have been. Lots of hills, a big river, huge gum trees and wide open blue skies. I did however find that living where you work and not having a sufficient amount of me time or time away from the kids and family makes for a cranky Jessica. I found it somewhat difficult to spend the weekend with just the family, but I think it may also partially be due to the fact that I have been missing home like crazy for about a week now. I am quite homesick at the moment so going away with only the family added to my homesickness. It made me want to be home with my friends and family even more.

The drive to the campsite is enough to make any agnostic praise ala. You have to travel for about 45 mins down a gravel road, part of which you have to pass through a one lane tunnel through the rock, albeit very neat it is nerve racking at the same time. Most of the road is basically one lane with a few spots here and there to pull off and let someone pass. Not to mention that the road is is the most winding road I have ever been on, and every other turn is a hairpin turn. On one side is a rocky mountain, and the other a shear cliff. The road in spirals down a mountain until you get to the bottom. It is so hard to explain with words, and I couldn't take ver good pictures either. To sum it up you have to keep the car between a moutain side and death basically. I am glad that Peter has driven that road many times, but I still had a mild stroke several times traveling that road.

Once arriving at the campsite we were able to set up camp in the clubhouse as we were the only ones using the property for the weekend. We brought the trailer with us in case we couldn't use the clubhouse, but it was nice that we could. It had seperate rooms and a table and such. It also had a few creepy crawlies that gave me the heeby jeebies. I made sure my bed was off the floor and not touching any walls. I also kept my eye on the large spider on the roof, that legs in was about the size of my palm, that by the end of the weekend I determined it was dead anyway, haha! The biggest issue at the campsite, not in the hut, but at the site was ants! Gawd! These Aussie ants are relentless! They are every where, and they crawl all over your feet and legs if you stand still too long. Plus they are effing huge and bite just for shits and giggles. I HATE the ants!!! Friday was stinkin hot so after setting up camp we went 4-wheeling. That way we would be in the air conditioned car. We went 4wheeling through a nudist colony and through the bush. The nudies were all in their caravans so I didn't see any wrinkly old asses walking around. We crossed a river and drove up another mountain. That is where the picture of me on here is taken. That track up the mountain was even more scary then the road in because everyturn was actually a hairpin turn, and one side equals death. I also saw my a kangaroo while we were 4 wheeling. It was the first one that I saw that was alive, and I could actually stop and take a look at. After a few hours of 4 wheeling through the bush and up mountains we headed back to camp for dinner. I took my journal down to the river, below a mountain, and sat in the middle of the river on a rock writing in my journal drinking tequila cooler. That is pretty sweet I must say. That same night I saw so many more kangaroos. They were all over camp, every where you turned there were kangaroos. Actually walking back from the river they were all over the path, and since I am from Canada I didn't want to get to close for fear of death by roo, but it was cool to be that close to all those wild kangaroos. I even got to see two of them boxing! The only thing I didn't see, that I wish I had of was a joey in a pouch. Tune into my facebook for pictures of all the wildlife I saw this weekend.

On Saturday we had to take a unexpected trip in town for a few hours. Too much wine on a Friday night can sometimes lead to a trip to emergency the next day, lol. And no, it wasn't me! It was good that we went into town tho, because after discovering that Peter and Charli didn't know what smores were I was determined to give them their first smore experience. I went in search of graham crackers and marshmellows. Little did I know that it wasn't just Peter and Charli that have been deprived of smores but Australia in general. They don't even have graham crackers and their marshmellows were about 1/4 the size of our roasting mellows. They were only slightly larger then hot chocolate mellows. I took my stunnedness out on the poor stock boy at Woolworths. What the hell kind of place am I living in that have never had smores, don't know what they are, and don't even have the things to make them. It is just down right nutty! So after that we had some lunch and drove to the Wombeyan Caves. Geesh! I thought the drive into camp was scary! One madam Willis would be having herself a litter of kittens if she had to drive that road! At least on the road into camp there is some vegitation that you pray would slow you down or stop you if you went over the edge, but on this drive it was just shear death to one side. You could see straight down for at least a mile in some spots. I tried to look straight ahead. The caves were really cool. We didn't do the whole walking tour because the kids fell asleep on the way there (or passed out from fear I think, lol) but Peter and I walked around a bit. They were huge and really cool. It made me excited for the trip I have booked to the Jenolan caves in two weeks. Then we spent Saturday night around camp. I made a fire and tried to make smores, but was only frustrated by the ordeal. I bought a biscuit type thing, but it was no graham cracker and that was evident. In the morning we packed up and shipped out. I was grateful that we left earlier then expected and I was able to get some sanity time by myself, and did a little retail therapy to smooth things over. In the end I am thankful that I was able to experience the breath taking views around the property and were able to see all that I did.

Last I leave you with this. Before we went camping I took the kids shopping for a few toys to bring with them. Their parents don't ever pack anything for them to occupy themselves with in these situations, but I decided to take a stand. I would not put up with wrangy kids any longer when the cure could be found in a $2 pack of dinosaurs and a bottle of bubbles. So we went to K-mart and were browsing for some things we might want to get. I saw a rack of bubbles and they had billion bubbles and all sorts. Then I noticed an odd shaped bubble wand staring me in the face. I took a double take, because at first glance I was a little offended until I realized what it was supposed to be.

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It is a banana of course! These bubbles smell like bananas, so why wouldn't the wand look like a half peeled banana? I did have to take a double take tho, hehe. Well if you have read this whole thing, good on ya, it is a long one. I miss everyone at home, and thanks for tuning in. Hopefully the week will be good.

Happy Australia Day!

Yesterday was Australia Day. When I tell that to people back home they say, "What's that?" As if this would be a foreign concept......hellooooo people Canada Day????? Australia Day marks the day the first boatload of convicts were brought to Australia, therefore starting the wheels in motion for it to be a country. Here in Australia Day is very much celebrated as Canada Day would be, BBQ's, drinking, games, carnivals, concerts etc. That is of course if you live with someone fun who believes in celebrations. I swear to pete that these people are Jehovah Witness or something. What the hell is up with the indifference towards holidays. For christ's sake you have two small children that might enjoy a little fun once in a while! Granted we did go to watch the fireworks in Parramatta Park, but it was a very non enthusiastic event. Originally I was told that we would be taking the kids to the carnival and taking them on rides and things, then we would go and watch the concert in the park before the fireworks. I thought, okay this is good, real celebration......WRONG! We drove into Parramatta and went to the hill where the concert was. They didn't bring a blanket to sit on, or anything to make it mildly fun. We couldn't see the stage and the boys spent most of their time getting restless and tired before the fireworks. The fireworks were great and the kids really enjoyed them. However as we were there I couldn't help but look around at the families with childrens face painted, balloons, temporary tattoos, picnic bags and blankets, and really making the best of the occasion. I didn't want to stand around doing nothing so I took the oldest boy through the crowd and to the stage to see a drumming group called Tyke Oz. They were great, and whatta ya know, he loved the entertainment. If I had of known we weren't going to do all that was said I would have went in by myself earlier in the day, but by the time I realized we weren't leaving it was too late. There was a rather hillbilly or bogan family sitting not far from us. Yea they might have been a little drunk and trashy, but you know what? They were having a ball! The kids were having fun, the parents were having fun it was a fun day out. I have never in my life met people that were so anti celebrations, other then JW. I guess I will have to whoop it extra for Canada Day when I get home! Oh I also took a picture of this woman's shoes next to Liam and I when we went to see the drums. I thought they were neat, and she and her husband really showed some Aussie pride!

Well despite a very anticlimactic Australia Day I am looking forward to camping with the fam this weekend. We are going to Koolandilly. That is where we went on my first day here in Oz. I think I will be able to better appreciate it this time :). I am glad to hear that you guys back in Hali had a mild day, and a bit of sun. That should give you all hope for spring :).

Bushwalking

Today I went bushwalking on the central coast. I went with this adventure social club that I found. It was great! It was everything I love wrapped into one. Hiking, bush, beach, and great views. It turned out that there was only four of us including the guide, but it was great anyway. I will be doing more events with them before I go I hope. I took the train to Wyee, which all together is about 3ish hours from my house. I didn't mind though, it was an okay train ride. Lots of things to look at once you get out of the city and suburbs. The guide picked me up at the train station, and there it was another 20 minutes or so driving to the meeting site. We met at Frazer beach. The beaches here are just awesome! The sand and the clear water just paint such a picture, that you can't help but love it. The bushwalk went from Frazer beach to Moonee beach, which is about 8km there and back. So it wasn't too long, but we took our time and explored around as we walked. The area we were in was hilly and there were many good views out onto the water. We also went down to a few beaches along the way. It was so nice to see the sandy beaches and big cliffs. It really was a wonderful experience. It was also such a nice day for it. It wasn't too hot, and it stayed cloudy so the sun wasn't beating down on us. As we walked I got to see different types of plants that are native to Australia, including one that will only regenerate when there are bush fires. It holds it's seeds in a pod until there is a fire and then it busts open and drops all it's seeds into the fertile ash. It is funny how this adapt to their surroundings. For example we had some apples and oranges to eat and Dean (the guide) passed around a bag to put our garbage in. I asked him why we wouldn't just leave it seeing as all the fruit peels would break down. He told me that the plants around there were so used to the low nurtient level in the soil, and that they have adapted to flourish in that environment that if we left the fruit there then it would break down but it would throw the plants out of whack because of the added nutrients. We walked through some bush trails, we walked along the beaches, we ate lunch in the sand dunes, and explored a rock tunnel through a cliff. It really was one hell of an experience that I am so glad I got to have. Dean was a bit of a super dork, but hey, to each their own I guess. I am keeping this entry short because I am soooo tired and really want to go to bed, but please check out my pics tomorrow after I put them up. Work tomorrow, then Australia day on Tuesday! Whoop........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz nighty night!

Sweaty Saturday

Well I am actually writing this on Sunday night, but since I have had such a busy weekend I have to write two entries. This is about my day on Saturday. If you notice the title of this one it best describes the weather here on Saturday. Actually I heard today that yesterday was the hottest Sydney has been in 4 years. Let me tell you, it was Hot, with a captial H. I was taking the train to Manly beach and just sitting still on the train I could feel the sweat running down the sides of my face and back. I know that is a smidge gross, but it really paints an accurate picture of how hot it was. I figured the beach would be a good place to be on such a stinkin hot day, so I took two trains and a ferry to get to Manly. When I got there I soon realized that they were having their annual lifegaurd games. So this took up a large chunk of the beach, leaving the swimmers confined to a few small squares of sand and water. It was mega packed because of the heat, and the spectators to the competition. I went in the water for a few minutes and sat on the beach for about a half hour and then went and milled around the shops. I couldn't hack the people+heat+shitty sand. The sand on Manly is not cool. It sticks to everything! Even when it is dry it doesn't brush off. It is the most annoying beach sand ever. I was glad that I went out to Manly though, and I got some information about a big walk that I may do at some point. A funny thing happened while I was walking around though. They were having a little market in one of the side alleys, so I walked around there for a bit. Part of the market was in a bar so you had to be over 18 to go in there, or supervised by someone over 18 said the sign. I went to walk in the door and the guy sitting at the front put his arm out and said "Are you over 18?" I laughed right in his face! Haha and no I don't think he was hitting on me, I think he was just stupid, lol. I was glad that I had the experience of taking the ferry to Manly, but if I go back it won't be for the beach. I took the train home, and when I stepped out of the station at Parramatta the temperature had dropped by about 20 degrees and the sky opened up and poured. The erratic weather kinda made me feel like I was at home :).

After arriving home Peter said that they were going into the city for the Symphony in the park, so I decided to join them. We drove into the city around 7:30ish and walked over to the Domain. The Domain is the main big park where all big events like this are held. Remember the picture I put up of the million people in the park for carols? Well that was also held at the Domain. Anyways we were walking up the path to the area where we were meeting friends, and Liam noticed birds in the sky. He said "Look Jessica at those birds." I looked where he was looking and sure enough is seemed that there was a large murder of crows or some other type of black birds flying around. Then one flew towards us, and over us. I looked up and it was at that moment I realized they weren't birds at all, but BATS!! Giant bats! They were huge, and there was thousands of them flying around. There just seemed to be more and more of them the darker it got. I knew that they lived in the botanic gardens but it was very creepy to see them flying around. Also it made it slightly more horror movie like with the symphony playing in the background.

The Symphony was great. It was nice to sit in the park and listen to the music. Plus now I can say that I have heard the Sydney Symphony play. There seemed to be a shit load of drunk old people around though. This is because I am not the only one that takes to drinking in the park. We got home around 11:30pm and I had a bunch of stuff to get ready for my bushwalk so that's why I had to give you Saturday's update today. Also I am hoping to put all my pictures from this weekend on facebook tomorrow.

TGI Friggin F!!!

Holy man I have had a long week today! I actually have had very strange day coupled with extreme heat. To start with I have had to work a bit late everyday this week except Monday. Peter has been away on business, and Charli doesn't get home until later. I don't mind helping out because as far as families to work for these guys are pretty great and flexible. So I don't mind giving a bit for a bit back. However it does make for a very very long week that is for sure. Also today it was about 40ish give or take a degree, and tomorrow is going to be about 48ish give or take. This Canadian-o can not take the heat! It really takes a toll on me, and probably a bit cranky. So that sure didn't help my kooky day. Plus this week I have been fighting with the gym managers and having to fully lay down the Moreeeny Wrath, and for those have witnessed this you know! All wrapped into one I am so thankful that today is Friday!

The first picture on here is of a cockatoo in the tree on my way to the gym. I still can't get used to the fact that they are wild here and just fly around willy nilly like it is normal or something. They can make and awful racket up in the trees, but are really nice to look at. So I thought I would share that with you.

So here is my day in a nut shell, a very large and long nutshell :). In the morning I took the boys to the playground not too far from here. It was so bloody hot that I think I may have lost about 5-7lbs just sweating walking back. Finally we arrived home and I blasted the AC for the rest of the day. I made lunch for the boys and put them to bed for a nap. Friday naps are the best ones for me because I usually do just about nothing while they sleep. Except today! I was sitting in my room chatting away with my mother on MSN and I wanted a drink so I ran downstairs to grab a drink and as I came down the stairs I noticed Tyler the cat jumping out of the kids play area. I was just like, meh she always gets into weird places she is not supposed to be when we are not around. I grabbed a drink and went upstairs continue chatting with me ma. Well I no sooner sat down at the computer and I hear an awful sound coming from downstairs. I hear an awful yowling sound, and loud too. So I run back downstairs to see what the deal is, and I see Tyler lying in the middle of the living room floor in a most awkward position with her leg half cocked out making this awful death cry. I got freaked/grossed out and didn't want to touch her. I said her name and she didn't respond at all then she opened her mouth and looked sooooooo freaky! Then I turned and walked away towards the stairs and she rigidly lifted her head and gave me the strangest stare with her mouth open. I raced upstairs and my next IM to mom said this " OMG the cat is dying! What do I do, what do I do !?!" I ran back downstairs to check on her and she had moved under the coffee table and seemed to be freaked but okay. I ran through a few possibilities with mom and concluded to just leave her and keep an eye on her. I watched her and all seemed fine, and Charli told me that she had done that once before. They didn't know if it was a type of seizure or what. Whew! They don't think that I killed their cat!

Right after supper I was sitting with the boys at the table. Charli had gone upstairs to the bathroom and I was waiting for Liam to finish his pizza. I heard the chickens making an racket outside. I weird noise, not regular clucking. I turned my head and saw a flash of white chasing the chickens. "What the hell was that!?!" I thought. I opened the door and saw a small white 'dog' chasing our chickens around. Now in my opinion if you can kick it across the room first try it is not a dog. But others say different. Anyways so I grabbed a piece of small piece of pvc pipe lying with the kids toys and chased the dog towards the gate, assuming it was open. When I rounded the corner by the trailer I noticed the gate was closed! The dog got backed into the corner and I didn't want to go any closer because I didn't know what it would do backed into a corner. I went through the house to open the gate on the other side and when I went back into the back yard the dog was gone! I have no idea where it came from or where it went, but it was gone. And no the heat was not getting to me! I think it may have squirmed out underneath the gate through a small hole. Charli came out to see what I was doing and I said "That's it! Seizing cats, mystery dogs, I am going to the liquor store!"

So after that off I went. It had been a day! Those things coupled with just the two kids and the heat were enough to push me over the edge. As I walked across the park I smelled the sweet smell of BBQ. Oh how I miss the taste of BBQ steak or meat at all for the matter. I nearly jumped the fence and stole their stuff right off the grill. These people don't even own a BBQ. Who wants to grill veggies and tofu anyway! I know that grilled veggies are quite good, but no one buys a BBQ just to grill veggies. They grill veggies to go along with their MEAT! So that was a bit of a slap in the face after a shitacular day. Also although it was the evening, and there was a bit of a "breeze." I suspect that is the same type of "breeze" that comes from the ass end of a boeing 747 jet during take off. It felt like someone was standing in front of me with a giant hair dryer just blowing hot hair on me. Mmmmm sweaty!

I got up to Woolies and to my surprise saw a beat boxing flute player. Yep that is correct. Outside the grocery store/beer store there was a beat boxing flute player. First one I have ever seen! While I was in the liquor store I saw the most interesting drink. Here they have things premixed in bottles and cans. Like Jack and cola or Jim Beam and Cola but this, this was different! I bought one to have on my way back home. As I walked back home I stopped in the park to enjoy a bevvy. Yes ma, that is your daughter sitting in the park drinking from a brown paper bag! Actually I just left the bag on for added effect, lol. So the drink that I bought and the drink inside the bag was a straight tribute to Amy ass Murray. I found a tequila pre-mixed drink. It was soooooooo good, and I am considering ditching the shitty Aussie beer and just drinking that from now on lol. Amy if you were her you would love it. It is like tequila candy in a bottle.

After drinking in the park I returned home to write this, and it took me twice as long because I kept drinking beers in the dark, and may have made some typos, lol. That was my Friday, but I am soo much looking forward to my weekend. I am going to the beach tomorrow, and then a bushwalking tour on Sunday. I will keep you posted! Thanks for tuning in!

Dry Spell.....

Well guys I don't have much to write. Things have been super slow around here, and I haven't been up to much these days. Just hanging out with the family, and keeping it pretty mellow. Also the weather has not been great on weekends with forecasts of rain, so that has kept me from going out and about and doing stuff interesting enough to write about. Not to worry tho, this weekend shall be filled with some sort of venture. I am not hanging out waiting for the rain to stop any more. If it is raining this weekend, I will get wet, lol.
Thanks to all who follow this silly thing, and I have been diggin the comments and messages on facebook.
Well guys that's it for today, more to come in the week I suppose. Peace!

Forecasting......Rain with Partial Puss......

TGIF!!! That is for sure. Not that I had a particularly long or hard week, but right about now I feel like shotgunning a 40. Today was just one of those days......you know one of those I say black he says white, I say up he says down kind of days. It is days like this that I wish it was still social acceptable to hit children (kidding of course, I would never). Just to top things off they are forecasting grey skies, and possible rain for the weekend. Plus I woke up this morning and my left eye was glued shut. It just doesn't make sense, I worked in a daycare for years with the little disease carriers, and may have gotten pink-eye once. Now I am in a private home with two children and BAM! pink-eye. So I thought, well no biggy I will just run up to the drugstore and grab some polysporin........wrong! I went and asked one of the chickies that worked there if they had polysporin drops. When she looked at me like I had 7 heads I realized they didn't have polysporin here in Australia. Well one would figure that they would have another brand or something similar to that, welllllll they don't! Go figure that here in Australia the medicare system has such a tight reign on things that you need a perscription for treatment of pink-eye. It is a damn good thing that I am living with a RN and an ex-paramedic that can fink me some treatment for my pussy eye.

And another thing......what kind of world am I living in that when I go to the library with the kids and I ask where the Robert Munsch is and the librarian looks at me with a blank stare. Then after checking the database says that there is one library that has a few books and if I like she can put them on reserve so that I can go and pick them up. SAY WHAT!!! Isn't Robert Munsch a staple to any childrens section of the library. They also failed to have Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Brown Bear Brown Bear and several other household names in Canada. I was shocked! I asked Peter if he had ever heard of these books, or was this just a dodgy library. He seemed as clueless as the librarian. These poor deprived children! Although maybe it is best that they don't know what they are missing. We originally went to the library to get some books on snow, and ice and things because the oldest boy asked me the other day "Jessica, do you know about the snowman animal?" I chuckled and explained to him that a snowman was not an animal, but something you make out of snow. He was so interested to hear tales of snowmen, snowforts, snowballs and piles of snow higher then he is tall. It must be amazing not to have any idea what snow is, and to have only seen it on TV or books.

Well I am hoping that this weekends weather doesn't turn out too bad, because I would really like to get out and about a bit more. I want to head back into the city and I have been trying to make it to Manly beach for weeks now. Aw well I also have packages to send out so we will see if I have transit fare after that. Well for the night I leave you with this link that Matt posted on my facebook wall. For those of you who didn't see it on there, you really should have a read, it is freakin hilarious! I hope you all have a wonderful Friday.

Check it out ---> http://www.cracked.com/funny-163-australia/

Back in Real Time.

Since you have all been caught up to speed with my trip to Melbourne, lets catch you up to speed with the weekend after I got home from Melbourne, and before you know it we will be back in real time.

After returning from Melbourne I was so broke it hurt. I spent all my money in Melbourne, and didn't work that whole week so I didn't get paid. It was worth it, but still that left me with no money for the weekend. I didn't even have enough for train fare into the city :(. That kinda licked because Sydney is having a month long festival, and the festival opening was on Saturday. I really wanted to go, but couldn't. Realistically I could have asked Peter and Charli to give me money and just take it off my pay for the week, and they would have done it, but those who know me well would know why I didn't ;). Anyways so I spent the weekend with the fam. On Saturday we drove up to the central coast to look at a few houses. Peter and Charli are thinking of buying around that area. That was okay, but there was an accident somewhere on or near the motorway which led to lots and lots of traffic. We ended up having to eat our picnic lunch in the car becauses of all the traffic, but hey, no ants! So that was a lot of driving for the day, and then in the evening Carlie, DD and their 5 month old daughter Jade came over for supper. I spend new years eve with them, and they are a really nice couple. So we hung out and played Wii and just relaxed. I called it an early night.

On Sunday we drove to Leets Vale and met Carlie and DD at the river. Carlie and DD are avid waterskiers, and jetskiers. So they invited the fam to join them for the day. It was really nice there. We sat under a tree and chilled and took turns on the jetski, and waterskiing. Well I attempted to waterski, but it didn't really go exactly as planned. I did about 4-5 faceplants into the water and never really made it all the way up before throwing in the towel. I had heaps of fun, I just don't see professional waterskier in my near or distant future. After some turns around on the skis we hooked on the ski biscuit. Oh gee, I love that name, heehehe. It is just a big tube instead of skis. I took a round on that, and geesh the certianly didn't take it easy on me. It was a great day to spend the day on the water, it was 38 degrees so I was happy to be at a beach with shade. After some skiing and biscuiting and a picnic lunch DD asked if I wanted to go for a spin on the jetski with him. I said sure! Well geesh, I thought I might die! He was one wild driver and zipped around the river lickety split. We were bobbin and weavin and doing doughnuts. I meanwhile was hanging on for dear life! It was loads of fun though, and I for sure would like to hang out with them again before I leave.

I also was able to catch some photographic evidence that the bird reigns supreme. I was able to snap a photo of his continued terrorism attacks on the neighbor woman. Although I think she has finally given in to the bird. I think we might say check and mate on the birds behalf. I haven't seen her angrily flinging open the door and swatting at the bird. No more spikes or deterrents have been put in place so maybe the bird had defeated her spirit. Who knows, maybe they have just made peace with their new relationship.

Well folks that brings you up to speed on all the notable events around here. Here is hoping the weather is nice this weekend too, that way I will be able to get out and about. Well folks, goodnight!

Melbourne, That's a Wrap!

After a full night of 'making party' I didn't really want to waste a whole day on a hangover so as soon as I could see and walk straight I got up and got in the shower to start my day. Lucy was getting up and around to go to the art gallery, and Janine was still 'resting' so I struck off on my own. I took the tram into the edge of the city and walked over to the Shrine of Rememberance. This is a huge monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers of past and present. The inside was less then climactic, but when you climbed the stairs to the top deck, it was quite a nice sight around all sides. Let me tell you climbing those stairs with a hangover was not the funnest thing I have done in Australia, but you must admire my determination to see the city :). So I mosied around the shrine and reading a bit of the information and plaques around, then headed to the Royal Botanical Gardens.

I posted a few pictures of the gardens on facebook, but let me tell you the experience I had there could never be captured on film. I did not expect to have such an uplifting, and emotional experience walking through a big garden. This garden is firstly like no other garden that I have been in before. If I lived in Melbourne I would go there all the time just for a pick me up. I took my time and wandered around the paths throughout the garden just taking it all in. It was amazing! The colours were so vibrant, and I would just stop and take in the smells around me. I must have stood at a bunch of eucalyptus for 5 full minutes just taking in the pungent smell. As I was walking I actually began to have a somewhat emotional response to the beauty around me. As I looked around me it seemed as though I was in paradise, and I was so thankful to be able to have that experience. It is hard to explain how I felt, and definately hard to explain the physical surroundings. It really made me grateful for being able to live each day as an adventure and for being here in Australia to experience new things like that. So some might think I am a bit of a knob for having such a reaction to a silly garden, but what can I say, I am getting soft in my old age ;)

After the gardens I took my time and walked along the Yarra River back into the city. It was so nice to just take my time and decompress after the botanical gardens experience. I was walking along the river and noticed that all along the river they have public BBQ's for anyone to use. There are two cooking surfaces and there is lovely set ups for picnics. I really like the attitude of being outside and enjoying things around here. I think we should have public BBQ's in Halifax, well except they might rust what with all the snow and salt. I just thought that was such a great idea, and a wonderful way to promote family time in an inexpensive way. I also got some great views of the city skyline along the river. I took a bunch of pictures and just enjoyed the sights. I walked into the busy bustling city and just took a tram back to the hostel to see if Janine was ready to go out.

When I arrived back at the hostel Janine wasn't quite feeling like going to Luna Park. So I left her in my dust and away I went. I walked down to Luna Park and walked around to scope out the rides. Turns out Luna Park is a bit more beefy then the Bill Lynch fair, but not by a whole lot. I didn't go on any rides, however I did end up getting a few stickers made with me face on them. The machine malfunctioned, so I ended up with 16 mini stickers with my face on them that say "Big Daddy" hahaha oh well I guess. I took a few pictures and then went to the grocery store to get some things for supper. I had a very quite evening as Janine went out before I got back, and called it a relatively early night.

The next day I was leaving so I couldn't do a whole lot because I had to catch the shuttle at 2 o'clock sharp. I went down to the beach and walked out to the pier. I saw the biggest jellyfish I have ever seen in my whole life at this beach. They were like the size of a house cat! I walked out to the pier and walked around a bit, then I just lounged and relaxed until it was time to go back and pack my stuff. My flight was smooth and easy and I got back here in Sydney about 7ish at night. I had a wonderful trip to Melbourne and maybe I will go back before I leave Australia.

So in three installments, that in a nutshell was my trip to Melbourne. If you would like to have a look at the pictures throughout the trip check out my facebook page.

Settle in, is a long one. :)

So after the breif luggage scare at the airport I was relieved to board the shuttle bus on time and have the ride to the hostel go smoothly. I arrived at the hostel and went to check in, but my room wasn't ready right away so I had to wait about two hours. It was no problem though I just dumped my big luggage in the storage room and struck off to see what was around the area. I liked what I heard one of the other residents say one time. Him and his friends were going out and around and he said "okay guys lets go get lost." I thought this was so true because going into a situation like that you have no idea where your going, or what is around you, but it doesn't take long to figure things out. So I walked down into the area of St. Kilda where all the shops and cafes were. It was pretty nice. It had a very mellow feeling to it, and was flooded with backpackers. I walked past like 3 other hostels as I walked around. I walked around the shops and stopped at a small deli for some pasta. It was really good. Then after a bit I made my way back to the hostel to see if the room was ready yet.

When I got back to Habitat I was happy to hear that my room was indeed ready. So I went upstairs to get myself established. I was staying in a 10 bed dorm room. It wasn't too bad. I mean some of the girls were a smidge slobby and left their shit everywhere, but I just moved it aside if I needed to. Plus people stumbling in at odd hours of the night is always fun, but I can't say anything because I was one of those people sometimes too. I met a swiss girl the first night I was there. We got along great and spent the next day together. After settling into my room I went into the city and walked around a bit. I went to a small bar and grill and had some food, and actually found a decent Aussie beer! Then after a while I took the tram back to the hostel. The trams, and the public transit system was so easy to use, and pretty sensible too. I bought a ticket in the morning for like 7 bucks and I could use it on as many trams, buses, and trains in Zone 1, which was all of the city and really anywhere I needed to go.

The next day Janine (the swiss girl) and I went into the city again. I wanted to go the big Queen Victoria market, and then we both wanted to explore the city a bit more. The market was really big. I am pretty sure it was bigger then the one we have here not far from the house. It was huge, with a variety of things to buy. I didn't buy much tho. Just some fudge, a magnet, and a few other little things. Then Janine and I walked and walked and walked and took the tram and rode the tram then walked and rode the tram some more. We walked all around looking at different parts of the city, and we got on the City Circle Tram a bunch too. This is a free service that goes around the city centre. You can get on and off as much as you please, but it didn't really matter because we both had daily tickets anyway. We went to the Melbourne Museum and spent hours in there. It was a really nice museum. It was very interactive and would have been great for children too. It was really nice to walk around the city and see all the different buildings around. They have a lot of uniquely built buildings all around the city. It was also just interesting to see all the sights, and people around. After walking around and spending the whole day in the city we caught the tram back to St. Kilda and went to the supermarket to get some things to make supper. We also stopped by the bottle shop for a bottle of cheap vino :). We made a nice little salad, and had some fresh bread with hommus, and of course cheap wine that we drank from coffee mugs. Little did we know that that was only the begining of the alcohol comsumption that would take place that night! haha

Attention Mother: If tales of your daughters drunken antics bother you, don't read any further! lol.

Then after supper a group of people came into the hostel from a night club within walking distance. They were handing out cards to all of us promoting their club for the night. They were also advertising $2 pints, and $4 cocktails. So of course we had to go out! Janine and I decided that we would head out in a while, the only thing was we had to be there before 10 in order to skip the cover charge. We went up to shower and got to talking to some of the other girls in the room. We made friends with a girl from the UK, Lucy. She was cool shit! I really liked her, and was happy when she decided to come out with us too. So about 9ish we headed out 'to make party' as Janine says. As we walked we all got a bit skeptical of what type of place this was going to be, as the closer we got to the club it looked slightly ghettoish. We carried on tho in hopes of cheap drinks and good times. We were not disapointed! We found the club, and it was slightly sketchy looking, but it was also in a backpacker neighbourhood so it didn't have to be too special to appeal to those around it. We did go and look around a bit for a back up bar in case that one crapped out. Well we had a wicked time! It turns out that cheap beer, body painting, dance music and a room full of backpackers = a whoopin good party! We danced the night away, mingled with people from all around the world and got drunk off our asses. Somehow we all got seperated and I ended up walking back by myself at about 5amish. I stumbled into my bed and passed out for the next 5 hours. I wasn't about to waste the day tho so I tried to haul my ass out of bed as early as I could see straight to go sight seeing again. This happened at around 11:30ish, lol. But that is another story for another time!

Anyone that is on my facebook can check out all the pictures from my trip. Peace out fer now!

Travelin Tales.....Vol. 1

G'Day folks! Well I have successfully made it to and from Melbourne in one piece. I had a great time down there and have so many stories to tell. I have so many stories that I couldn't possibly put them all into one blog entry. You would be sat at your computer reading for days, not to mention that I am dead tired and couldn't tell you everything tonight. The two pictures that I posted are a pretty good representation of what this trip was about. The city, and the beach! I spent hours walking and lounging on the beach. The hostel was within walking distance to St. Kilda beach so basically, with the exception of one day I think, I went to the beach at least once a day. I also did so many things in the city, and just had an overall great experience! I think the best way to share my trip with you at home is to break it down into a chronological series of stories, so keep in mind it might take a few days to read about my whole trip.

So to start with arriving at the airport to depart would be a good place to start don't you think? Well on Monday when I was departing, Peter was also going away on business to Wagga Wagga (yea I know what you thinking, but it is a real place), our flights were like 5 mins apart so we travelled to the airport together. We were leaving from different terminals, but it was just the matter of crossing a pedway and parking garage into my terminal. So after we dropped the car off for the park and fly we headed our seperate ways. As I walked into my terminal I could see a huge line of people, probably the length of the terminal, waiting to check in. I don't know what the hell was going on at the airport this particular day, but it was about to throw a huge wrench into my plans I thought. So I checked in with one of those kiosk dealies, and thought that was going to make it super easy to then just dump my bag and away I go.......or so I thought. After checking in I wasn't too sure where to go from there, so I asked one of the Quantas ladies standing near me. She told me that I had to get in the mile long line in order to check my bag. I looked at this woman with a combination of desperation and disbelief, and then told her that my flight was leaving at 8:30 and it was now 7:55. She then said "Oh well if the flight is leaving at 8:30 what time to you board?" I looked at my ticket and then realized that I was supposed to board at 8:10! So anyways long story short and a few breif waves of panic I was shuffled along to the already called flight line, where I quickly checked my bag and ran through security and to my gate in the nick of time. The flight was fine. It only took an hour, so before you knew it, we were there. I knew that when I arrived in Melbourne I had to call the hostel I was staying at to get a code for the shuttle bus driver, but I thought it wise to get me bag first. So I came off the plane and went directly to the baggage claim. I was standing amongst the people who also had just flown with me, watching the belt go around and waiting for them to start dumping luggage onto it, when they started making announcments on the loud speaker. The announcement went like this "Attention Quantas passengers arriving on flight 417 from Sydney (my flight), approximately 60 pieces of luggage failed to be loaded onto this flight. We are sorry for the inconvenience, and we hope that most of that luggage will be arriving on flight 419 arriving at 10:25am." I looked at my watch and it was 10:00, so I thought meh that's not so bad. Then I heard, "However if your luggage does not arrive on this flight we will recieve it within the next 24 hours" Ugh! I think we all know how the Moreeeny Curse works when it comes to travel situations. So I stood and waited at the carousel with the other confused passengers, and I tried to think of what my next course of action would be, because since I was so late checking my bag chances were mine was one of the 60 left behind. As I was thinking this they started to dump what luggage they did have onto the belt and it began to move along. The line of luggage started to come down to where I was standing, and I was floored when I saw that my bag was the second on the belt!!!!! I was so suprised, I almost let it go by me. I snatched my bag and got the hell out of dogdge! Maybe the Moreeny Curse is only in Canada, it would seem as tho this could be possible.

From this experience I boarded the shuttle to the hostel and away I went on my adventure! I am going to bed, but don't worry there will be good stories tomorrow too.

Time off is the best time :)

Hello my loyal followers! Geeze I sound so sci-fi or something saying that. Ba-well, anyways I have been off since Friday morning and my time will continue into the week. On Friday they picked up Nana at the airport from New Zealand. Nana is one cool chick! I really like her, she got a great personality, and look on life. Actually she somewhat reminds me of a certian PPCCC overlord, aka The Willis. So Nana is hanging out with the boys for the week and I have the week off. So I decided to take a trip to Melbourne. Due to limited internet during my travel, you won't be able to see the pictures or hear the stories until Friday. I am coming back Thursday night, and working Friday morning. I suppose I could have left on the weekend, and had more time there, but Peter and Charli paid half my flight costs so I didn't want to argue, lol. I am just as happy going for 4 days rather then 5. I am really looking forward to it, I think it will be great times and good sights. I have a walking tour planned and a trip to Phillip Island to see the penguins. You all know that I will be filling you in on the details upon my return.

So from what I can hear you all had a reasonable NYE. Then a shitload of snow today! I heard from just about everyone how much snow they got. To that I say "Suckers!" So here is the deal people, if you are going whinge (whine) and complain to me about the cold and snow, then you can listen to me rave about the sun and wonderful temps here. You got me? I don't mind hearing about your weather, but you are not allowed to get grumpy if I tell you about my sunny days.

A quick update on the war being waged next door. I learned today that the bird that takes part in this saga is not actually a magpie. It has the same colouring as a magpie, but is most likely not a magpie. I will have to research what type of bird it is. It is however still goin at it. It has been raining for the past few days so the bird hasn't been around too much, but it still makes at least a once a day appearance in the rain. I am sure through the week while the sun comes out he will be back at er full force.

Finally before I depart for the week, I encountered my first poisonous spider tonight before dinner. Well actually my second encounter, but the first time I didn't know it was poisonous. While helping Charli and Nanna get supper served up I noticed a spider making it's way across the kitchen floor. I didn't freak I calmly asked Charli if it was dangerous. She came around the corner and calmly said "Yup, that's a white tail." She then went and got something heavy to squish it with. Now the white tail is not deadly to most but it does cause skin ulcerations and if suffering from a previous condition (ex. diabetes) it can be deadly. They are very common around here, so you need to be careful. After looking at the spider I realized that was the same spider I killed right next to my bed 2 days after I got here. Yay! I love Australia spiders (insert sarcastic tone here)! I am okay with the small ones, as long as they don't bite me but I don't ever ever ever want to see a Huntsmen. Those spiders are as big as an adult hand or bigger. But not to worry their not poisonous...eep!

Badeeb, badeeb, badeeb......thats all folks! See you on Thursday!